A’s signing two-year, $6.5 million deal with Hiroyuki Nakajima

The A’s will introduce Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima at a press conference at the Coliseum tomorrow afternoon after signing him to a two-year, $6.5 million deal, according to MLB sources.

The deal is for $6.5 million in guaranteed money but is also loaded with incentives and escalators. There is also an option for a third year at $5.5 million. Last year the Yankees won bidding rights on the Seibu Lions shortstop but were unable to reach a deal with him.

In the last six years, Nakajima has batted below .300 only once and is a career .310 hitter. The 30-year-old has 104 home runs and 514 RBIs in six seasons with the Lions.

Nakajima’s signing comes hours after the Red Sox locked up former A’s shortshop Stephen Drew on one year, $9.5 million contract. According to industry sources, the A’s “weren’t even close” monetarily to Boston. The A’s hoped to give him a similar salary to the one he’d earned last year, not a substantial raise.

Here’s a look at Nakajima’s home run swing, bat flip and trot from his Seibu days: